CoContest, a startup that is essentially ‘99designs for interior (rather than graphic) design’, has raised $200,000 in funding with the aims of developing its product, growing its audience and expanding into Latin America.

CoContest allows users to post ‘contests’, which designers then respond to with pitches. Any interior design project can be posted. When the contest finishes, the user picks their favorite design and can then pay the winning designer.

As with 99designs, we can see there being criticisms from designers who feel they’re being encouraged to work for free by completing work that may never be used. However, there are others who see this as a valid way of connecting designers with work.

The Italy-based startup’s assault on the Latin American market comes due to its recent selection for the well-regarded Start-Up Chile accelerator (see our previous coverage). Participation in Start-Up Chile earned CoContest $40,000, while the new investment of $200,000 comes from Italian VC firm LVenture. LVenture has also worked in an option to invest a further $100,000 in the future.